Toe Cap with Extension Side Wall for Lateral Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional safety shoes with embedded toe caps fail to protect the little toe from lateral impacts while maintaining normal walking and bending motion, as the toe cap design prioritizes motion over protection, leading to potential injuries from objects like dolly wheels.
Innovation Solution
A toe cap design with a cup-shaped shell body and an extension side wall that covers the little toe area without disturbing walking or bending motion, featuring a rear end edge aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal direction to maximize coverage and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the toe cap is formed large enough to cover the little toe, then protection of the little toe is improved, but walking motion and toe bending motion are disturbed
Solution Approach 1:
The toe cap is divided into two functional parts: a main body portion that covers the front of the toe and allows bending motion, and an extended side wall portion that specifically covers the little toe area. This segmentation enables each part to fulfill its specific function without interfering with the other, resolving the contradiction between protection and motion freedom.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension side wall is designed to extend rearward only at the outer side wall where the little toe is located, while the main body maintains a shape that allows toe bending. This local modification provides enhanced protection precisely where needed (little toe area) without compromising the overall motion capability of the toe cap.
2Reliability
If the toe cap covers the entire toe including little toe, then protection function is improved, but the rear opening edge contacts the instep region during foot bending, disturbing motion
Solution Approach 1:
The toe cap structure separates the protection function into two zones: the main body portion with controlled rear opening for motion, and the extension side wall for lateral protection. This segmentation allows the rear opening to remain forward-positioned for bending freedom while the extension provides rearward coverage at the side for protection.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the coverage uniformly in all directions, the invention adds protection in a specific dimension by extending the side wall rearward at the outer side. This dimensional approach provides little toe protection without requiring the rear opening to contact the instep, maintaining bending motion capability.
3Ease of operation
If conventional toe cap design is used, then walking motion is maintained, but little toe is not protected from lateral impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The extension side wall is specifically positioned at the outer side wall where the little toe is located, providing localized protection against lateral impacts in the precise area that was previously vulnerable. The rest of the toe cap maintains its conventional design for normal walking motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The toe cap is segmented into a main body for general protection and motion, and an extension side wall specifically for lateral impact protection at the little toe area. This segmentation allows the structure to provide both motion capability and enhanced lateral protection simultaneously.
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(b)
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention provides a structure of a toe cap and a shoe having the toe cap embedded which does not disturb foot movement such as walking while protecting a toe against lateral collision with an object such as a wheel of a dolly. The toe cap to cover a toe in a state of being embedded to a shoe toe includes a cup-shaped sell body which is formed by connecting a front end wall, bilateral side walls and an upper face wall with a gentle curved face, and an extension side wall disposed at least to one side wall as rearwardly extending a rear end edge of the side wall. The shoe having the toe cap embedded can sufficiently protect the toe even when an impact is applied from the outer side (i.e., the little toe) direction of the toe of which protection is not sufficient with a normal toe cap embedded shoe.